The Gymnast and The Ape Man
by Animelover5234
Summary: Audrey Porter is the sister of Jane Porter and the daughter of Archimedes Porter, but is different as she is gymnast and is constantly judged by her sister and others. However, Audrey gets the adventure she's always dreamed of when she goes to Africa with her family and meets the ape man, Tarzan. Audrey falls for the wild man and learns that she must save it with Tarzan. Tarzan/OC
1. Chapter 1

_**THE GYMNAST AND THE APE MAN**_

**Hello and welcome everyone to my first Tarzan/OC story. I've looked around for some Tarzan/OC stories before and saw ****none whatsoever****. Now I understand if you all like Jane and Tarzan stories but I wanted to try something different. Now Jane in this story is not the heroine with Tarzan, she doubles as the antagonist and tritagonist (the third most important character). I know it sounds like there's going to be Jane-bashing, but there won't be. But it will, hopefully, capture your attention and will have some twists in there too. Also, this story takes place when Tarzan is an adult and it will follow the movie just with my own inputs, a lot of them.**

**And now please enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TARZAN**

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_**LONDON – 1999**_

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If you've ever had a time when you were absolutely, positively, without a doubt got tired of being home all the time? Well, join the club. It wasn't like I hated being at home. It's just that I wanted something new. I wanted an adventure, something out of the ordinary, something nobody has ever done. I guess I get this desire for adventure from my father, since he loved the need for explorations just as much as I did.

"Audrey? Audrey?" my sister Jane called for me. I giggled silently and looked down at my sister who was wandering through our gardens, while I was sitting in our old tree house that Daddy helped to build for us, well Uncle William actually did all the work.

"Audrey, please. Will you come out? Daddy needs to speak with us." She said. I shrugged and then jumped out of the tree house, swinging from one tree branch onto the next and then landing right behind Jane. She gasped and let out a small shriek at my acrobatics.

I snickered at her expression. "Good heavens, Audrey! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" she said breathlessly.

"I'm sorry, Jane. I forgot you're not one for gymnastics." I said, walking with her towards the back door.

"Because it's not lady-like, Audrey. You need to be proper and precise. Petite and dainty. Elegant and-

"Boring. And be a damsel in distress all the time. Sorry, Jane that might fit you but it's not me." I replied. I could see the glare on her face.

"And this is why you'll never get married." She retorted. My cheeks flared up in heat and I tried to restrain my anger at that comment, but it wasn't working. I really wanted to do an obscene gesture but Daddy called us both before I could do so.

"Ah! Jane! Audrey! My two lovely daughters!" Daddy said. My anger for Jane immediately vanished and I smiled happily and ran into my father's arms.

"Why, Audrey." Daddy said pulling something from my hair, "You're growing weeds!" he joked, showing me the little vine he pulled out. I giggled whilst Jane rolled her eyes.

"That's because she was being careless as usual, Daddy." She added

"Now Jane, Audrey can do what she pleases. Even if it means becoming a human tree." He teased with a good hearted laugh. My father always understood me. He never judged me the way Jane did or my mum either. When our mum was still alive, she and Jane always scolded me on my behavior and my etiquette. Now I'm not saying that I'm a slob. I do have grace and talents, but I wanted to be who I am and I wanted my family to accept that from me. Only Daddy did that, which is why I am really close to him.

"Now my dears, tomorrow we are going to the banquet at Madame Giselle's house and I need you two to be dressed and ready before we leave, yes?"

We both nodded. "Yes, Daddy." We said right before the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Jane said and walked away. Daddy pulled me towards the sofa and sat down with me.

"Now Audrey, do you remember that talk we had the other day?" he asked smiling. It took me a moment to remember but then I nodded. Yesterday, Daddy had told me that he wanted to travel again. Daddy was a scientist and a professor at the University of London. He teaches students about animal biodiversity and some zoology but mainly about the habitats, behaviors and diets of gorillas. They are his favorite animals.

"Yes. You said you wanted to go to a new continent." I replied. Daddy nodded and took my hands into his, holding them tightly.

"Audrey my dear, your father, Archimedes Q. Porter, is planning for a trip to Africa!" he said with excitement. My eyes widened and I immediately crushed him into a big hug.

"Daddy, that's wonderful! Africa has many gorillas and you'll be able to complete your research on gorilla habitats there!" I said

"That's right, darling and here's the best part: you and Jane are coming with me!" he added. After he said that, I wanted to faint. I, Audrey Porter, would get the chance to visit the luscious jungles of Africa?! This was too good to be true.

"Really?!" I said

"Absolutely, my dear! Though we will need a guide for our trip to make sure we won't get lost there. Madame Giselle has a brother named Clayton and I thought about him being our guide since he's had experience with this. We'll meet him tomorrow at the banquet." Daddy said. I still couldn't believe it. We were going to Africa! This was definitely exciting for Daddy and I couldn't wait to see all the animals and learn their names and spends days in the sun and hanging with the animals. Jane came back to the living room with a young man, laughing with him about something probably funny. I groaned in annoyance as it was Robert Canler, the stuck-up, no-nothing twit that happened to be a close friend of Jane's.

"Daddy, look its Robert." She said happily.

"Ah, yes! Robert Canler, how are you, good boy?" Daddy said, shaking his hand.

"I'm good, Professor Porter. Just stopping by for a visit." He said and then looked my way with a smug smirk.

"Hello, Audrey." He said. I narrowed my eyes and turned on my heel and left to go to my room. I didn't like Robert whatsoever because there always seemed to be something off about him to me. And plus he would always smile at me so creepy like. A knock came on my door and then in came Jane with a disapproving look.

"That was very rude, Audrey." She said.

"And? He deserved it." I said looking through my closet.

"Audrey, Robert's a good man and an old friend. You have to mind your manners or have you forgotten what manners are?" she inquired. I growled and then turned to her.

"Jane, just stop it, okay? I'm not some little petulant child that needs to be taken care of every 24 hours. I'm 20 years old and a grown woman and I don't need to be lectured by my own sister who seems to think that I resemble a monkey than a person!" I rambled and then sat down on my bed, my back facing her with my arms crossed. I heard her sigh and then sit on the bed with me. I didn't want to say anything to her at the moment because I knew my anger would flare up in a second if she made another remark, but instead of that, she giggled a bit.

I turned to her slightly, wondering what was so funny.

"I remember calling you that when we were younger." She said and then giggled again. I remembered it too. When Jane was 9 and I was 4, she used to say that I looked like an untrained monkey and I would get so mad that my cheeks would puff up red and I would start babbling something like, ironically, as an enraged monkey would. I snickered a bit and my frown turned into a smile as I thought back to that memory.

"Do you remember that?" she asked softly.

"Yes…..it was in the good old days." I said sadly, "When mum was still alive." My mum's passing was one of the hardest things I had ever been through. When she died, I felt like I was dying to too. I never knew what it meant to feel so much pain, but when I went to her funeral that gave me a wake-up call I'll never forget.

Jane wrapped her arms around me and hugged me close.

"I'm sorry, Audrey. I don't mean to be so harsh on you. It's just that I want you to be a wonderful woman that any man would be lucky to marry." She said. I sighed and looked into my sister's eyes.

"I understand that, Jane. You and mum wanted the same thing. But did it ever occur to you both that maybe by just being me is enough? Or will I always be a disgrace by being who I am?" I asked with sadness laced in my voice. Jane looked ashamed and hurt by my words but it was exactly how I felt and she needed to know. I shook my head and walked away from my room and into Daddy's office. I closed the door and then sank down onto the floor, letting little tears flow on down. How could I be someone that I wasn't? I wasn't proper like Jane and I wasn't as sophisticated as I should be. I was a gymnast and outgoing and yet that wasn't good. In fact, that was practically looked down upon. I wiped away my tears and thought back to when I begged my mum to allow me to take gymnastics lessons. Mum thought that it was outrageous and stupid and Jane, like a little lap dog, agreed. Daddy was the one who vouched for me and helped me to pursue my dream while mum reluctantly went along with it. When she saw the little outfits we had to wear, she almost fainted. As a lady, we weren't allowed to show our legs or have our busts exposed that much, but my gymnastics uniform did the opposite. It was like swimwear, where my thighs and legs were in full view and the chest area was tight to were the shape of my breasts could be made out. I knew that my mother loved me dearly but at the same time, I felt like she was ashamed to be my mum because of what I did. So many times I told her of the other parents who allowed their kids to do what they pleased, but she only gave me a scowl and told me that they didn't care about their child's life and future whereas she did. So many times I had asked her to come to my performances and the answers were always the same. She would try, she couldn't make it, she was tired or maybe next time. Jane came to only two of my shows and then never again. Daddy came to all of them and so did Uncle William. Uncle William was mum's brother and he was pretty carefree about life so he really didn't see the problem. Daddy just wanted me to be happy with whatever I wanted, but how could I be happy if I was always being judged? And in this moment, as I sat on the floor and cried, I felt the exact same way when I first went into the London Academy of Gymnastics and Dance; alone in my own little hole, with nobody to hand me a ladder.

_**Like it? Love it? Please let me know how it was!**_

_**Review and read please and thank you!**_

_**~Animelover5234~**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, another update! Already I have some followers on this story and I'm so happy about that! By the way, I forgot to mention this in the last chapter, but Robert Canler is from **_**The Legend of Tarzan **_**and was in the last episode of the series: **_**Tarzan and The Flying Ace. **_**And now, let's continue!**

**I DO NOT OWN TARZAN**

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As planned, Jane and I woke early to do our hygiene routine and get dressed properly in our nice dresses for Madame Giselle's banquet. Jane wasn't really talking to me this morning, probably because of what I said to her yesterday, but I honestly didn't care. It wasn't my fault if she couldn't handle the truth. Jane had already picked out a nice blue dress with a collar and white frills on the sleeves and on the hem of the dress. She wore white gloves with it and had her white frilly umbrella to go with it. I was still choosing until I came across this wonderful dress that Uncle William's ex-wife had bought me when they were still married. It was a soft pink colored strapless dress with a fuchsia colored scarf wrapped around the waist area. It also came with a matching glittery pink shawl for my shoulders and long with gloves that almost reached my shoulders.

I saw Jane scrutinize the dress because of how 'un-elegant' it was but surprisingly, she said nothing and walked out of the room. I shrugged and went into my room and put it on and it fit perfectly around my frame. I tied my hair up into a nice bun and then placed a little floral comb to keep it still. Jane did her makeup, as usual, to beautify herself but I was more of the natural type and didn't bother. I grabbed my little wallet and went downstairs to meet Jane and Daddy at the steps. Daddy looked happily at me while Jane just stared with no emotion at all.

"Oh my dear Audrey, you look lovely." Daddy said and then took my hand into his. I smiled and kissed the top of his head.

"Thank you, Daddy." I replied. Jane didn't even look at us but at the wall clock.

"We better get going." She said and then walked out of the house to Uncle William's car. Uncle William was going with us and offered for us to ride with him since we had no car of our own. Daddy noticed the obvious tension between me and Jane.

"Is everything alright with you two?" he asked. I didn't want to alert Daddy of what happened yesterday and how Jane was being childish right now, so I just smiled.

"It's nothing, Daddy." I said and then walked out with him to the car. Uncle William grinned when he saw us coming out and Jane was in the backseat just staring ahead.

"Lovely day, eh Porter?" he asked as he shook Daddy's hand.

"Yes, very beautiful indeed William." Daddy replied. I came around the other side of the car and got into the passenger seat behind Uncle William. He craned his neck to look back at me and I leaned in to press a kiss against his cheek.

"How are you, love?" he asked me with a silly grin.

"Fairly good." I answered smiling just before Uncle William pulled away from the sidewalk and onto the streets. The whole time as he drove on by, I just stared out the window while Jane and I still said nothing to each other.

I wasn't mad at Jane. I was just annoyed with how she was treating me at the moment. This was a banquet we were all going to and she just had to pick today as the day that she would throw a hissy fit. I brushed it off. If she didn't bother me and ruin my good time, I wouldn't ruin hers.

When we arrived in front of Madame Giselle's 'mansion', as I called it, we saw some of the guests entering the house and some talking with one another outside in the gardens and in the gazebo. Uncle William stepped out of the car with us and extended his arm out for me to take, which I did gladly. Daddy did the same for Jane and they immediately entered into a conversation.

"Excited?" Uncle William asked

I shrugged. "Fairly." I said

"That is a lovely dress you're wearing. I'm surprised Jane didn't even bother to leave a comment." He said. Uncle William knew of how critical Jane was because she resembled our mum, his sister, so much.

"She's angry with me." I said, walking up the front steps with him.

"She'll get over it. She always does." He said and then we entered the house which was decorated with lights and had so much elegance that I knew Jane would fall for. And as expected, she did exactly that. Her friends, Eleanor, Greenly, and Hazel came up to her squealing their lungs off like crazy. Jane automatically smiled and entered a quick conversation with them and they totally ignored me in the process. The only thing they gave me was distasteful looks. I rolled my eyes. Jane probably gave them the anti-Audrey speech. Then I started to feel bad about saying what I said to Jane yesterday for a moment, but then I thought: why should I be?

Uncle William went off to some lady who called to him and then I felt someone take my hand. I looked and saw that it was Daddy who was smiling and leading me to some seats.

"You look unfocused, my dear." He said and then sat down with me at a table.

"Jane's demeanor on your mind?" he asked. I gave a sigh and nodded. Daddy could read me well.

"What happened?" he asked

'Better tell him' I thought and then took a deep breath.

"I told Jane how I felt about her criticisms and it hurt her feelings."

"What did you say?"

"I said that I understood why she's so harsh on me but at the same time, why can't she just be happy with me the way I am and will I always be a disgrace in her eyes?" Daddy sighed and looked down before patting my hands.

"I don't fault you, Audrey. I know it's been very hard for you to be happy and to feel accepted, especially within your own family." He said and then we looked around at all the guests here.

"I know exactly how you feel. I had a hard time getting people to accept my eccentric self and it really took a toll on my family and myself but then I found someone who appreciated me and loved me eve if I was the odd man out, as you would say."

"Mum." I said with a sad smile

"Yes. I know your mother was hard on you when you dreamed of becoming a gymnast but that didn't stop her from loving you."

"I know that Daddy, but why did she have a hard time accepting me? Was I that much of a freak of nature?" I asked

"No not at all, darling. Your mother-"

"Ah, Professor Porter!" someone interrupted Daddy. A man who looked so revered and also a bit mysterious came to Daddy and me with two other women with him, one of them I knew to be Madame Giselle.

"Yes, may I help you?" Daddy asked confused.

"Archimedes, it's so good to see you again." Madame Giselle said shaking Daddy's hand and then glanced at me.

"And why Audrey, I love your…..attire. It's so…..different." she said and gave a fake smile and shook my hand. I gave one in return.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Madame Giselle." I said with a smile as fake as hers was.

"Oh, Madame Giselle!" Jane said coming up to us and kissing the older woman on her cheek.

"Oh Jane dear, you look so elegant and beautiful as your mother." She complimented my sister. I fiddled with my shawl and felt uneasy and uncomfortable now.

"Wonderful event, Giselle." Daddy said politely.

"Oh why thank you, Archimedes. And allow me to introduce my siblings: my brother Cecil Clayton and my sister Lady Waltham." Madame Giselle said

"Oh yes! You are Mr. Clayton!" Daddy said to the man.

"Yes Professor, Giselle tells me that you need a tour guide for your trip to Africa?"

"Yes, my daughters and I need someone with experience to guide us through the jungles so we don't get lost in the fray." Daddy said with a chuckle.

"Well Professor, I would be honored to help you and your daughters on this expedition." Mr. Clayton said and then they shook hands. I was happy that we were going to Africa and happy that Daddy would get to fulfill his studies while we were there, but most of all I was happy to know that in the coming weeks, I would be saying goodbye to little old London and hello to Africa!

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_**WEEKS LATER…..**_

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Many weeks passed and Daddy and Mr. Clayton continued to plan our arrival and days in Africa. They talked about all the specifics such as how much food to get and to hunt for food if we needed any, setting up a good campsite, how far we would travel, and most importantly, how long the trip would be?

Daddy suggested that we should stay at least 3-4 weeks there and honestly I thought that was perfect for us because it gives us time to record everything and have a good adventure while we are there at the same time. Well at least I thought so. Jane didn't like the idea of staying that long in Africa because even though she wanted to support Daddy, I knew that she wanted to get back to civilization as fast as possible. I honestly didn't care because I was all about adventure and this was the chance I had been waiting for.

Looking out my bedroom window, I decided to finish my packing because in a couple more days, we were heading out and I wanted to be ready and forget nothing at all. I pulled out my suitcase from under my bed and began to pack more and more items inside of it. I had pictures of the African jungle, the animals that inhabited the area and the right clothing to wear so that nothing would rip or get in the way of my own explorations. My door creaked and Jane entered my room and closed the door. Over the past weeks, Jane still said little to me even though I could care less but at least she was talking and not giving me the silent treatment anymore.

"Audrey." She started, "I'm sorry for my behavior these past weeks. That comment you made really stung."

I said nothing and continued my packing.

"I understand what you meant by it and you were right. I shouldn't judge you like that." She added. I looked towards her and saw the sincerity in her eyes and smiled a bit.

"Thank you, Jane." I replied. I turned my attention back onto my suitcase and began to close it up.

"Well?" she asked

"Well, what?"

She scoffed. "I think I'm due for an apology as well." She said

"For what? I didn't do anything." I said

"Yes you did. That comment hurt my feelings and you shouldn't have said that to me." She said

"Jane, explain to me how it's my fault that you can't take the truth? I told you how I felt and it's not my problem that you can't deal with it." I answered. She scoffed and looked at with a crossed look.

"You know what? Fine, I take my apology back."

"Fine, it's not like I needed it anyways."

"I was right. You are so stuck up and superficial that you believe you're never wrong and that everyone has to pity you."

"Excuse me?" I asked appalled. "You are the one acting like a drama queen and prissy and precise thinking that the world revolves around Jane and that everything has to stop for only you." I accused.

Jane gasped and scowled. "I beg your pardon?"

"You think that just because you have such good looks that everyone has to grovel before your feet and praise you as the highest being there is." I spat. I felt my cheeks beginning to heat up and my anger and frustration rising as well.

"That is not true!"

"It is so and you know it!"

"Liar!"

"You're the liar!" I yelled

"Ladies, ladies, what's all this fuss about?" Mr. Clayton said entering my room. Jane scowled at me again and looked away.

"Nothing's wrong, Mr. Clayton. My sister and I were having a little disagreement and it seems it's clear that there is always one in the family that has to be the disappointment." She spat at me with venom in her words. Those words stung at my heart and made me want to cry so badly.

"If you'll excuse me?" She said and stalked out of the room. Mr. Clayton looked towards me and shrugged before leaving as well. My tears brimmed in my eyelids and then spilled over as I sat down on the bed with my head in my hands.

The day had finally arrived where we were all to leave for Africa. Daddy and Mr. Clayton arranged for us to drive on over to the airport, fly to Africa and then take a boat to the jungle. Mr. Clayton's crew was going to navigate the ship there and he promised us the best accommodations that money could offer. The moment we all piled into the cab, my heart rate accelerated quickly as I thought of all the wonderful things we would see on this trip and how much we would get to see in our time being there. Daddy took both mine and Jane's hands into both of hi but didn't even bother to ask us why we weren't talking once again. I hoped that this would end before we got to Africa because I really didn't need for us to be angry on our trip. I glanced at the attire that Jane was wearing for the trip and raised an eyebrow at the yellow dress and new boots that Daddy had bought for her. I rolled my eyes. That's not what you wear to a jungle! I'd seen many nature films and shows and trust me, dresses were not a part of the attire. I wore a light green t-shirt with mid-thigh length, beige colored shorts and brown knee length boots with a nice cowboy hat like the one Jack Hanna wears.

When we arrived at the pier, the men began to unload the trunk with our luggage and onto the ship while Clayton went to speak with the captain. I gazed at everything on the pier and felt butterflies entering my stomach inch by inch.

"Are you ready for this marvelous trip? Too see the gorillas and be a part of Archimedes Q. Porter's African Adventure?" Daddy asked me. I giggled and straightened his safari cap.

"Definitely." I replied as I took his hand and boarded the ship to our destination.

_**Like it? Love it? Tell me how I did!**_

_**~Animelover5234~**_


	3. Chapter 3

**I DO NOT OWN TARZAN**

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Throughout the whole ride to the African jungle, I was either helping Daddy get his things ready for the expedition or just wandering around the boat trying to pass the time. Jane stayed isolated inside our chambers either reading or drawing. I sometimes wrote some poetry or sang a song as well, but still it felt like we couldn't move any faster than we were now. The captain informed us that we would be arriving shortly to the jungle but it seemed so far away. My excitement began to build more and more as we edged closer to the adventure that awaited us. When we were at least a couple of miles away, I went up on the top deck and felt the sea breeze brush past me.

Inhaling its salty yet refreshing scent, I closed my eyes for a moment and then opened them again and saw the fog that we were moving through disappearing as the jungle came into sight. I squealed in excitement and Daddy and Jane came up on deck as well. Daddy smiled with a dreamy gaze.

"Ah...isn't it lovely, girls?" he asked us.

"Yes, very." Jane answered and then patted my shoulder. I looked at her with a confused expression. First she was mad at me now she was being nice? What the hell was going on in her head?  
"Let's bury the hatchet for Daddy's sake. This is really important to him and I know we both don't want to ruin it with our squabble." She said. I sighed and nodded. Jane was right. This was Daddy's dream and I would be crushed if it got ruined because of me and Jane. We had to leave behind those childish feelings we had back in London and put forth a better attitude for Daddy.

"You're right." I said and looked at Jane who smiled a bit and rubbed my arm. I gave a tiny smile back but I was still thinking about what she had said back home and even now, it still stung at my heart and mind. The boat finally docked at the shore and we were allowed to get off. The moment I landed on the soft sandy soil, I felt myself explode into a million pieces and I was ready to take off and just enjoy myself.

"Now Professor, let me remind you and your daughters that this is a jungle and not all the creatures that live here are friendly. So if there is any trouble, please do as I say and we will be safe." Clayton said with a grin. The three of us agreed because he was absolutely right. Without Clayton, how would a professor, gymnast and artist defend themselves?

Clayton packed his big machete and a rifle gun and his men helped us to carry our belongings inside the jungle. Everything was so majestic and exciting the way it looked to me. The sun was coming through the trees and birds were flying and squawking overhead. We all walked for awhile until we stopped at an area close to the shore and not too far deep into the jungle.

"This looks good." Clayton said and the men put our stuff down and waved us goodbye and headed back to the ship. The four of us unpacked everything and set up 2 tents, an eating area, a workplace for Daddy and we dug a latrine for ourselves also. Jane and I shared one tent while, Mr. Clayton and Daddy shared another. Jane also set up her little girly manor and I set up my own just so that way we wouldn't be getting in each other's hair.

* * *

For the first few days, we stayed here and just got all of our supplies together. Then we finally set off but the days went by and each day we got not the best results. No sights of gorillas or even a clue as to where they could be located at. About a week passed by and we still had nothing. Daddy did more research and tried to find out where the best areas for gorillas to inhabit would be. Jane and I talked more and were civil to each other and I guess we were returning to our old selves but it was limited because we were helping Daddy with anything we could.

Once again we began to move into the forest and Mr. Clayton cut down the trees that were blocking our pathway. He started telling us of his marvelous adventures in forests like these, again, but then he stopped and fired his gun once and then 10 seconds later, he did it again.

"Mr. Clayton, what's wrong?" I asked

"Nothing's wrong, just chasing away any wild animals that might harm us." He said with a shrug. We stepped over huge overgrown vines and broken down trees, courtesy of Mr. Clayton, and once again he talked of his stories, but I couldn't help shake the feeling that we were being watched. Once again, he stopped us all and then fired his gun. I didn't even mind the gunshot because I was lost in my own world at the moment until Jane pulled me back to earth.

"Audrey, stay focused. You don't want to get lost here." She warned and then pushed her way through the thin trees.

"Ugh, Daddy? Daddy, what's all the hullabaloo about?" she asked and then got shot backwards from the trees. I snickered a bit to which she scowled at. She pushed her way through again with me behind her.

"Daddy, why are you standing like that?" she asked him.

"Mr. Clayton told me not to move, he saw something." Daddy whispered quickly. Jane sighed and marched up to marched up to Mr. Clayton.

"Umm…Mr. Clayton? Sorry, excuse me?" she said, trying to gain his attention, "Um, my father and my sister and I came on this expedition to study gorillas and I think your shooting might be scaring them off."

Clayton rolled his eyes. "You hired me to protect you, Miss Porter and protect you I shall."

I intervened this time. "And you're doing a marvelous job! But we only have for so long before the funding for this trip runs out and-"

"Jane! Audrey!" Daddy called to us both, "Do you both realize what your standing in?!" he asked excitedly.

We looked down and I gasped in surprise.

"A gorilla's nest!" I said and then knelt on the ground next to Daddy.

"Oh my goodness!" Jane added. Clayton grinned widely.

"At last! Our first sign in days!" he said and bent down next to us, examining the nest, "Do you think the beasts could be nearby?"

"Yes, they could be." Daddy said and then I spotted more nests here as well.

"Daddy, look! Over there, and there!" I said. Jane and Daddy's faces lit up in delight from my discovery.

"Yes, more nests! I see them!" Daddy exclaimed

"If there are this many nests here, do you know what that means?" I asked them to which they understood, but Clayton didn't.

"What?" he asked

"A family group!" We all said in unison

"Oh Audrey, Jane I love you both!" he said hugging us tightly. Clayton laughed at us.

"Family groups? You make it sound like they're human when they're wild beasts that would love to take your head off!" Clayton said. I scowled at his ignorance.

"Actually Mr. Clayton, gorillas are known to be social creatures-" but I was interrupted when Clayton fired his gun again above our heads and into the trees, leaving two huge holes.

"Mr. Clayton please? What if it's a gorilla?" Jane said

"It's no gorilla." He mumbled looking suspiciously at the area.

"Perhaps it's better if we move along?" he asked

"Yes, yes of course." Daddy said and followed Clayton deeper into the jungle. I was right behind them until Jane stopped and called me over.

"Audrey, look! Look at this little one!" she said gesturing to the little monkey that was munching on a mango that was much bigger than him.

"Okay now, hold still." She said and then pulled out her drawing book and sketched a wonderful portrait of the little monkey. I had to admit, Jane definitely had talent. I was in awe about her drawing and apparently so was the monkey. He leaped onto my shoulder and gazed at his picture.

"What do you think?" she asked him, but all he did was smile and grab her book and leap away.

"Hey! Come back here!" she called out to him. The little monkey ripped all the pictures she had previously drawn out of her book and threw them all over. I sighed and walked over to the fallen drawings and picked them up with Jane.

"Great, just what I wanted. A monkey to steal my book while I'm searching for gorillas." She said sarcastically as she marched up to the monkey who was happily ripping out her drawings, until he finally found the one he wanted and hugged it tightly.

"Alright you, hand it over" she said , but he refused.

"Jane, you're negotiating with a monkey?" I asked

"Audrey, I need that drawing. Now I'm going to count to three: One…Two…Oh look, bananas!" she said and the monkey feel for it which allowed her to take back her sketch. I shook my head.

Jane grinned and shook her head. " Oh my goodness, I can't believe you fell for that." She said and then it started to cry.

"Oh, none of those crocodile tears. You stole my sketchbook. What would your parents have to say?" she asked. We got our response when we heard loud growling coming from behind us. I turned and gasped when I saw a whole group of baboons angrily growling.

"Oh well, you know how children are. Be easy on him." Jane said nervously and then tripped over a vine. The baboons roared and leapt for us. I grabbed Jane's arm and helped her up quickly.

"Run!" I yelled and then we took off as the baboons chased us. We ran through past all of the trees and then my heart started pounding faster as I saw us coming to a cliff. The only other option would be jumping or being devoured by a horde of baboons.

"Take my hand!" I called to my sister and she held it for dear life. I could make the jump and get to that vine. My gymnastic skills were the only thing that was going to save us and I couldn't fail Jane and let us both die. With a determined look, I leaped with Jane and then felt myself soaring over the trees. It was unbelievable and unreal at the moment, until I heard Jane screaming her lungs off and I looked up to see an almost naked man holding onto the back of my shirt and looking down at with a confused look.

Jane screamed again as a baboon locked its jaws onto her boots and chewed at it.

"Get off!" she screamed and whacked it with her umbrella until it fell off. The man jumped off with us and did an air somersault as did I. Jane hollered as he landed and caught her first and put her down and then caught me second in his arms bridal style. His calloused fingers brushed against my bare skin, making me shiver slightly.

"Put her down! Put her down!" Jane commanded. He seemed confused and slowly let me down but then the baboons rushed towards us at fast pace.

"On second thought, pick me up!" I said and then he took Jane's hand and flipped backwards with us. We were falling down through the thousands of trees but this man seemed to do a good job of holding onto me and Jane securely at the same time. There were so many jumps and twists and turns that made me very thankful for being a gymnast. I was able to do almost the same as the man and I guessed he looked intrigued by my flexibility. Both of us landed on the same vine and were gliding on it at the same time and he caught Jane in his arms but the baboons were coming at us again. Jane quickly climbed onto the man's back and opened her umbrella and pushed it forward and together we pushed all the baboons out the way. I had to admit, that was pretty smart. The end of the vine was nearing and the man grabbed my waist just as he leapt onto a vine, but then a baboon jumped on Jane and wrestled with her.

"Unhand me!" she yelled at it but was choking the man at the same time. She was finally released but then her umbrella got caught in a vine and kept her behind just as the baboons charged for her.

"Jane! We have to go back!" I said to him with pleading eyes. He sighed and then switched vines which sent us back to her just as she fell with the baboons pulling her down. He grabbed her foot with his own feet and swung us all to an old broken tree and arranged me so that I was now on his back so that he could catch Jane. I gasped as I saw those same damn baboons running to us again. Man, they were persistent!

"Look! Over there!" I said and then we all slid down inside the old tree but then it broke open from the excess amount of weight that the baboons had. Jane fell into a tangled amount of vines and was safe, but the man and I kept falling.

"AUDREY!" She screamed as we fell deeper into the jungle. I screamed and held onto the man for dear life, hoping this wasn't it but then we flew up into the air and landed onto a tree branch with me like a tree monkey on his back. The old tree fell through the vines and was headed towards us at full speed now.

"LOOK OUT!" I screamed just as the man jumped from branch to branch and then finally landed on one tree, pushing me up against it and between his almost naked body. The tree fell to the ground with a large thud. I carefully peered down at the tree and tried to catch my breath from all of that excitement. Just then, a baboon and the little baby from earlier came floating down on Jane's umbrella and began talking with the man which kinda weirded me out but was kinda fascinating at the same time. Above my head, I saw a piece of paper falling down towards us and noticed it as Jane's sketch of the baby baboon. I grabbed it just in time and glanced at it before the man turned to me and took it from my hands and gave it to the baboons. That gave me the chance to walk around the tree and to try to get down from here.

"Okay, just breathe Audrey. But how can I breathe calmly when I'm in a tree with a man who talks to monkeys!" I said to myself and sighed. I jumped down from the tree branch and onto the next and looked up to see if Jane was still up there.

"Jane!" I called but received no answer. Then I heard thunder and not too long after rain began to pour.

"Wow, just what I needed." I said sarcastically. I turned but then was surprised by the man once again who was now hanging upside down. I screamed in fright and fell back against the tree. He got down and then curiously moved towards me.

"Um…I, um, please don't come near." I asked with a timid expression. He looked at me with wonder and moved closer, which made me curl up my legs. He looked down at my legs and inspected them before taking my foot into his lap and examining it. I became curious as to what he would do and was surprised when I saw him pull my boot off and then stare at my leg in full view. I blushed and then tried to pull it back but her kept it in place and then played with my toes.

I laughed and tried to wriggle away from his grasp, but he continued to play with them which made me laugh more. When he stopped, he looked at my bare leg and then slowly trailed his hand up my leg, in almost a caressing manner. His calloused fingers ran up my leg to my thigh and I shivered from the contact until he began to go under my shorts and that's when I kicked him in the chest, pushing him backwards.

"Okay, now that's enough of that." I said and then saw how soaked both of my boots were now from the rain. Looks like I won't be wearing these anymore. I took off my other boot and pushed them aside but the man approached me again and this time came close to my face.

"Um, I don't uh think…please don't come too close…" I said, a little scared of what he might do but from the looks of it, he seemed like he had never seen another human before. I almost felt like he was trying to get to know me, find out what I am to be exact.

He gazed into my eyes and I was amazed by his lovely blue-green eyes. I had never seen a person with them before although mine were blue. He leaned in closer and cupped my cheek carefully and I tried really hard not to move but at the same time, I forgot to breathe as well. He looked down and then carefully picked up my hand, examining it as he did with my leg and face. Then ever so gently, he splayed out his whole hand against mine and it matched perfectly against each other. He looked surprised and then gazed at me differently. It didn't seem like he was curious anymore, it looked more like he was a peace. Like he had finally found something he had been searching for after a long time. Maybe I was right. Maybe this was the first time he had ever laid eyes on another human. He pulled his hand away from mine and then slowly leaned forward down to my chest and laid his ear in between my breasts. I was now blushing furiously and stayed completely still.

'_If my father saw this, he would faint.'_ I thought. When he pulled back from my chest, he took my face into his hands and pressed my cheek against his own chest.

"Oh God. Oh God, Oh God, Oh God." I said and then pushed back from his bare chest.

"Yes, that's a lovely heartbeat." I said and then wrung out my drenched hair. "It's very nice." I said

"It's very nice." He mimicked. I froze for a moment and then looked at this man.

"Wait, you can talk?" I asked. He tilted his head and looked confused so I guessed that he was just mimicking my words but didn't know what they actually meant. I straightened himself up and cleared his throat and pressed his fists against his chest.

"Tarzan." He said. I raised an eyebrow in confusion at what he said. He moved closer to me and tried again.

"Tar-zan." He enunciated and stretched out each syllable for me to understand.

"Tarzan." I said which put a smile to his face.

A light bulb went off in my head as I realized what he was trying to say.

"Oh, I see!" I said smiling

"Oh, I see!" he said with a smile. "Tarzan, Oh I See." I giggled a bit and shook my head. He thought my name was 'Oh I see.'

"No, my name's Audrey." I said

"No, my name's Audrey." He mimicked in a girly voice. I laughed a bit and moved closer to him.

"No. Audrey, Tarzan. Audrey?" I said gesturing our names so that he could understand. He gazed into my eyes and then gently cupped my chin with his thumb and index finger.

"Audrey." He said softly and I nodded.

"Exactly." I replied as the sun shined through the trees. Then a gunshot went off in the distance.

"Clayton!" I said and Tarzan went towards the edge and looked into the distance as the gun fired again.

"Clayton." He said and I came close to him.

"Amazing." I said softly and gazed at his muscular and handsome form in the sunlight. I blushed and pushed away those thoughts.

"Um Tarzan?" I said and he turned to me. "Can you take me to my camp?" I asked but then I remembered Jane and I wondered if she was still stuck up there.

"Um never mind, can you get me to the ground?" I asked pointing to where the grass floor was. He smiled and grabbed my waist and pulling me against him and I was kind excited for this. I held onto his neck and felt my heart jump as he swung us down to the ground and I couldn't help but laugh and smile. When we landed, I tried to get him to understand that I needed him to get Jane, but then I heard someone call my name and it was a woman's voice.

"Audrey?" Jane called and appeared through the bushes and I immediately ran into her arms.

"Oh Audrey! Thank heaven, I thought you were…"

"I know, I was worried for you too, Jane." I said in her embrace. We pulled back from each other and I smiled in Tarzan's direction.

"Jane, this is Tarzan." I said smiling at him. Tarzan moved over to me and then stood up on his feet and brushed some of my hair back.

"Audrey." He said and I blushed, but then Jane pulled me back from him.

"Audrey, we don't know this man!" she said

I sighed. "I know but he can help us get back to our camp." I answered

"How do you know that? He can honestly take us away and have his way with us or eat us!" she shrieked. I hushed her.

"Jane, I sincerely don't believe that he would do that because he's never met another human like us before."

"What?" she said with a confused expression.

"I'll explain later." Ii said and then moved to Tarzan. "Um, Tarzan? Can you take us to our camp?" I asked and then he made the gunshot noise from earlier. I nodded, at least he understood.

"Yes, there." I said. H smiled and grabbed my arm and pulled me onto his back as he climbed onto a vine. I wrapped my legs around his waist and kept my arms around his neck, as he extended a hand for Jane to take.

"C'mon, Jane." I said. She sighed and took his hand. He wrapped an arm around her waist and got ready to take off.

"But Audrey, can't we walk?!" she said as he swung us through the jungle.

"Can't we walk?!" He copied as his voice echoed with my laughter following it.

* * *

_**Alright so Audrey and Tarzan have met but what will happen when they meet again? Find out next time!**_

_**Review please! Cuz they're my motivation!**_

_**~Animelover5234~**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Alright guys, so now that Tarzan and Audrey have met, let's see what happens between them now.**_

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TARZAN**

* * *

Through the whole ride, Jane was freaking out a bit but I was enjoying everything so much. What a rush it was as Tarzan flew through the air like he owned it and landed so expertly onto each vine or tree that we passed. He was incredible and I wanted to learn more about him. I guessed that he was from here since he couldn't speak English and from his…..interesting attire.

Tarzan finally landed on the ground with us but our camp was getting trashed by so many gorillas and an elephant. I really didn't care about the mess and neither did Jane, we were just in absolute awe that we were actually seeing gorillas.

"Audrey, are you seeing this?" she asked me

I nodded and smiled. "Yes I am, and I can't believe it also." I said. We watched them break our stuff into pieces little by little right before Tarzan grunted at them happily and ran up to an ape and rough-housed with it. I cracked a soft smile and moved forward a little.

"He's one of them." I murmured and watched the bond between Tarzan and the gorilla. I had read in one of Daddy's books that gorillas have long-lasting relationships with other for many years and could definitely see that Tarzan was born in this life and was part of their lifestyle, which made me more curious about how he ended up here.

When Tarzan pulled away from the other gorilla, it stared at me with surprise and wonder. Tarzan turned around and smiled towards me before motioning his friend to go to me. I got all jittery and excited to see and touch a gorilla up close and extended my hand out slowly for the gorilla to touch. It mimicked my actions and gingerly touched my hand before Jane spoke and I saw the smile drop from Tarzan's face.

"Umm, Audrey?" Jane said nervously. I felt a hot breath blow onto the back of my neck and turned around only to be face-to-face with an angry looking, large gorilla. I guessed this was the leader.

"Oh, my-" I was cut off when it roared ferociously at me and Jane. We screamed in fright and I fell down on my back while Jane sunk onto the ground, almost like she was surrendering to him. The gorilla grunted and then sniffed out Jane. Its eyes widened and then it roared mightily again, which put a shock to Tarzan's face. I wondered why. The big gorilla grunted again and moved away from us, while the other gorillas moved behind their leader. Tarzan began to follow but then stopped and looked back at me as I did to him. Our eyes locked with each other's and we didn't break our gaze until a reddish-brownish looking gorilla came to Tarzan and tugged on his arm and grunted something to him, like it was worried.

"Audrey?! Jane?!" Clayton called

"Jane?! Audrey, where are you, girls?!" Daddy called worriedly. I wasn't even listening to Daddy and Clayton calling us as I stared at Tarzan and saw his hesitation to leave us. I reached out a hand to touch his and he did the same, but Clayton's and Daddy's voices increased as they moved closer to where we were. The gorilla tugged on his arm again, more urgently this time and before we could touch, he ran away with the gorilla and vanished into the bushes.

"Jane?! Audrey?! Where are you?!" Daddy called frantically, just before he found us.

"Jane!" He said with relief and hugged her. He then moved over to where I was as I sat up and embraced him.

"Oh Audrey, thank heavens." He murmured. I hugged him tightly and was glad to be reunited with him but was sad to see Tarzan leave. Daddy pulled back and patted my cheeks.

"Oh dear, are you both alright?" he asked with concern

"Yes, but Daddy, I have to tell you something!" I said and stood up with him just as Clayton entered our campsite and was surprised by what had happened here.

"What in God's name happened here?" he mumbled with shock.

"Daddy, there was a monkey! A little baby! A little baby monkey so I drew a picture!" Jane started.

"Oh really?"

"But then suddenly that monkey starts crying." I added

"Oh poor thing"

"And then we turn around and there's a whole fleet of them! An army of monkeys surrounding us! Screaming at us!" Jane said

"Oh my!" Daddy said

"And we were terrified! But then we jumped and suddenly we were flying through the air! Swinging and flying! And Daddy, they took my boot!" Jane said showing her bare foot.

"Oh my, those are the ones I got you." Daddy said. I shook my head and smiled dreamily as I remembered what happened after that.

"And we were saved. We were saved by a man in loincloth." I added and walked towards the edge of the bushes where Tarzan left from.

"Loincloth? Good Lord." Daddy said

"What the hell are they talking about?" Clayton asked

"They're very good actresses. They make up stories all the time. I think they got it from their mother." Daddy said

"And then there were gorillas, but-"

"Gorillas?!" Clayton exclaimed

"Yes and-" I got interrupted again.

"You saw them?!" he asked and then grabbed my arms, shaking me slightly. "Where, Audrey? Where?" he urged. I looked towards the bushes again and felt sadness enter my heart.

"He left with them." I said

"Who, Audrey?"

"Tarzan." I said with a smile.

"Tarzan?" Clayton asked with confusion

"The Ape Man." I said

* * *

_*** TARZAN ***_

* * *

"Everyone! Listen up." Kerchak started off as everyone quieted down. Mom came to my side and held onto my arm as we listened.

"We will avoid these creatures until it is safe." He said. I shook my head. After spending time with that girl, I could see that they weren't going to hurt us, they were curious. Like I was when I met her. Audrey. I could still remember her face so clearly.

"They mean us no harm, Kerchak." I interjected

Kerchak frowned. "Tarzan, I don't know that."

"But I do. I've spent time with them." I added. It may not have been a lot of time but I wasn't lying. I did spend time with the girl Audrey and whatever that other girl's name was. I think it was Jane? I remembered both of them being beautiful but Audrey caught my interest.

Kerchak's frown deepened. "You may be willing to risk our family's safety, but I'm not." This angered me so much. How could he believe that I would endanger our family? These creatures were not harmful whatsoever, why couldn't he see that? But what was really pissing me off was the fact that they were like me and yet he treated them like they were dirt, like they would kill us all. It was a major insult to me and my kind.

"Why are you threatened by anyone different from you?" I challenged. I was getting annoyed with this macho stuff and how he was acting right now. Kerchak may be our leader, but he has some serious trust issues, me included.

Kerchak growled and moved forward towards me, but I stood my ground as he towered over me.

"Protect this family. And stay away from them." He warned. I glared at him and huffed. I was fuming through my ears and I was ready to explode any moment as I turned away from him.

"Tarzan, for once, listen to Kerchak." Mother pleaded but I was mad at her too. How could she not tell me of my true heritage and that I wasn't the only one? That there are others like me?

"Why didn't you tell me that there were creatures that looked like me?" I growled towards her. She was surprised but then looked down at the ground with shame and guilt in her eyes. I didn't care at this moment, so I ran up to the trees and stayed on the highest branch for the rest of the evening until the morning came.

* * *

_*** AUDREY ***_

* * *

"So you're saying that 'Tarzan', as you call him-"

"No, he told me his name. I didn't give it to him." I interrupted

"Okay well, you're saying that he doesn't have any clue as to what we are? That he doesn't know that he's a human?" Jane asked

"Jane, think about it. He can't speak English and the way he looked at us, it's obvious that he hasn't seen another human being before." I concluded as I put on some new clothes. Yesterday, after Tarzan had gotten me and Jane back to the camp, Daddy and Jane wished to know what Tarzan was and what had happened. I gave them my theories on everything about him and Daddy was impressed but Jane was skeptical even though she saw him herself. Jane thought that he could be a rapist or something.

"Now Audrey, how did you say he walked again?" Daddy asked

"Well it resembled a gorilla, basically." I said. I crouched down into a gorilla standpoint so they could visualize it.

"This was how he was and he walks like this." I said as I moved forward in this position. Daddy was interested and followed my actions. Jane didn't want to try.

"Oh, marvelous dear! He actually walks like a gorilla!" Daddy exclaimed. "The way you described it is perfect! He walks like a gorilla, plays with them-

"And has no respect for personal boundaries!" Jane added. I rolled my eyes. What did she expect from a man who had been raised in the jungle? To drink tea and eat crumpets with his pinky extended?

"Really? How-"

"He was this close to her Daddy! Staring at her!" Jane said glancing at me although I remembered those moments instantly and blushed a bit at the closeness and how intimate it was for me.

"Yes,…..but he seemed confused." I said and stood up. I grabbed the chalk from the board and began to draw an image of what he looked like.

"Like he was searching for an answer to an old question. His eyes were, curious….so focused…" I said beginning to get a little lost in the drawing as I remembered his beautiful blue-green eyes.

"I've never…..seen such eyes." I murmured as I finished my drawing. Daddy smirked with Jane and she put her hands on her hips.

"Ahem….shall we leave you alone with the blackboard, Audrey?" Daddy teased

I giggled. "Daddy, stop it." I said and got serious. "The point is, he might be the key to finding the gorillas. We must find him." I concluded, but then Clayton growled as he finished his shave.

"Grr…..Professor!" He started and came towards us. "You're here to find gorillas, not indulge in some girlish fantasy." He said dismissively

I glared at him. "Fantasy? I didn't imagine him! Jane saw him too!" I said

"She's right, Mr. Clayton." Jane added

"I don't care for what you believe you saw, Miss Porter." Clayton said addressing me.

"Tarzan is not a figment of my imagination! He's-" and then before I could finish, Tarzan leaped down in front of me with a smile.

I smirked at Clayton's astonished reaction. "Real."

Daddy was gobsmacked. "It's him! It's-it's-it's-it's-it's-it's Tarzan!" he exclaimed.

"Professor, Jane, Audrey stand back!" Clayton ordered as he pulled out his rifle and aimed it at Tarzan.

"Wait!" Daddy said

"NO!" I yelled and pushed the gun upwards before it shot Tarzan. Clayton glared at me and I did the same back to him.

"Clayton." Tarzan said

"W-What?" Daddy asked

"Clayton." Tarzan said again with a proud smile.

"Ah! He said 'Clayton'!" Daddy said excitedly.

"Have we met?" Clayton asked. Jane and I snickered. "How does he know my name?"

I giggled which caught Tarzan's attention and made him come towards me again.

"He thinks it means the sound of a gunshot." I said

"Audrey." He said softly. His fingers brushed against my cheek and then pulled up some strands of my hair away from my face.

"H-Hi, Tarzan." I said nervously and with a small smile, just before Jane pulled me away from him.

"Don't get too close." She warned

"Oh yes, you were right about those personal boundaries, Jane." Daddy said. Tarzan walked around Clayton, examining him closely.

"What is he doing?" Clayton asked as Tarzan stood up and impersonated Clayton's appearance.

Jane and I laughed at his curiosity. Clayton frowned.

"Look at him, girls! Moves like an ape but looks like a man! He could be the missing link!" Daddy inquired.

"Or our link to the gorillas" Clayton murmured to him.

"Ah yes!" Daddy said. Clayton cleared his throat and approached Tarzan.

"Where are the gorillas?" he asked but Tarzan was more interested in playing with Clayton's mustache.

"GOR-RIL-LAS!" Clayton yelled/enunciated at Tarzan, stretching each syllable out.

"GOR-RIL-LAS!" Tarzan mimicked

"Shouting won't help Mr. Clayton. He doesn't understand English." I said

"I'll make him understand. If I can teach a parrot to sing 'God save the Queen', I can certainly teach this savage a thing or two." He said arrogantly as he drew, what Ii guessed to be, a gorilla on the chalkboard. I rolled my eyes.

"Yea, but Tarzan's not a parrot." I muttered and let Clayton make a fool of his own self.

"Go-rilla." He said and handed the chalk to Tarzan.

"Go-rilla." Tarzan copied as he studied the chalk.

"Oh! He's got it!" Daddy said happily.

"Go-rilla! Go-rilla!" Tarzan said as he scribbled the chalk all over the board. Great, now he thinks that gorilla means drawing.

"Oh, perhaps not." Daddy said

Clayton snatched the chalk from Tarzan's hand.

"No! No, no, no, no!" Clayton said. Tarzan grabbed the chalk back and mimicked him until they both began to fight for the chalk until I pulled it out of Clayton's hand. Jane came to my side and sighed at the two men.

"Mr. Clayton, I think we'll take it from here." I said and so began our journey of turning an Ape Man into a man.

* * *

Daddy and I were able to get a camera to play little slideshows of pictures to show Tarzan inside our tent. Tarzan was, of course, curious, about everything we were going to show him, but he was also amazed at the same time.

_**Whatever you do, I'll do it too**_

_**Show me everything and tell me how**_

_**It all means something, and yet nothing to me**_

Tarzan gazed at all the pictures and touched the screen curiously. I watched him try to understand and learn what they meant even though I knew he still didn't understand. However, this was the starting point for our mission to educate him.

_**I can see there's so much to learn**_

_**It's all so close and yet so far**_

I gazed dreamily at the picture that now showed a woman and man dancing. I had always wanted to dance with someone I cared about, like a special loving dance that would only be between me and the man I loved, but alas that never happened, yet anyways. Tarzan looked at me and grinned before taking my hands and making me dance with him. Daddy, Mr. Clayton and Jane sat in the seats and watched and clapped for me and Tarzan as we sort of danced. I laughed as he twirled me around and he grinned wider right before a new picture showed and this time it was Daddy's turn to teach him of the stars and planets.

_**I see myself as people see me**_

_**Oh, I just know there's something bigger out there!**_

_**I wanna know! Can you show me?**_

_**I wanna know about these strangers like me!**_

_**Tell me more! Please show me! **_

_**Something's familiar about these strangers like me!**_

Daddy explained to Tarzan about the planetary systems and the stars and how they came to be. I stood by and watched as him and Jane taught him of the solar system. He seemed to understand and pick up on the science part really quickly. He looked amazed and interested in learning more that for the past few days, he had been returning to us, hoping and wanting to learn more about our way of life. The next topic was to teach him English which was my task. Tarzan and I were able to sit down each day for at least an hour and have him read with me through small children's books. I taught him phonetics, the alphabet and even how to speak in sentences. It felt like going back to grade school all over again, but I didn't mind teaching him. It was actually really fun and enjoyable for both of us.

We continued our lessons and the more I read with Tarzan, the more he read on his own and spoke words with me clearly. I also became more attached and friendly with him as it seemed that we were bonding over the course of time that he was learning the English language.

"Jane….Runs….Fast. Watch….Jane…Run." He read with a proud smile. I clapped for him.

"Excellent, Tarzan." I said

"T-thank you." He said and I smiled again. He was getting better.

"Audrey…..good t-t-teacher?" he said, almost like a question. I nodded and then blushed.

"Yes that was right and…..thank you." I said and brushed some of my hair behind my ear.

"Alright, time to learn with Jane." I said and walked with him to Jane's station so that he could learn how to behave and act properly. Jane was teaching him basic cognitive skills at the moment, but he turned back and waved at me to which I returned and went back inside the tent.

* * *

_*** TARZAN ***_

* * *

I was so proud of myself that I was learning how to become like Audrey, Jane, Clayton and the Professor. Human, I think it was? But even through the lessons from day to day, my favorite one was English because I got to spend time with Audrey more and more. I became attached to her and was happy whenever she was near me. I tried talking in English with her to improve my conversational skills which did help but I wanted to impress her at the same time. Everything I did and learned, I wanted to make her proud and happy towards me. I wanted to see her smile always.

_**Every gesture, every move that she makes **_

_**Makes me feel like never before!**_

_**Why do I have,….this growing need to be beside her?**_

My last class would be about geography and Clayton was my teacher but my focus was always off in his class because I would always stare at Audrey. She had told me that he was a gy-gym-gymnast, I think? So she practiced daily by stretching her legs and arms. She would be a few feet away from where Clayton and I were but still I watched her body bend and flex and it made my heart race. She did a careful split and stayed in that position just before she caught me gazing at her. She blushed and stood up, holding her arms before she did her gymnast routine again. Clayton kept getting annoyed with how distracted I was becoming and ordered her to move somewhere else. Audrey got furious and embarrassed and I, in my still learning English state, promised that I would focus more if she could stay. Clayton agreed and I focused to keep Audrey near, but still…I would still gaze at her beauty.

_**Oooh these emotions I never knew**_

_**Of some other world far beyond this place**_

_**Beyond the trees, above the clouds!**_

_**I see before me a new horizon!**_

* * *

_*** KALA ***_

* * *

For the past weeks, Tarzan has been secretly going to places that I didn't know. Although Kerchak really couldn't care any less than he already did, Terk and I were worried. I wanted Tarzan to enjoy his freedom, but I just hoped that he was okay.

_**I wanna know! Can you show me?**_

_**I wanna know about these strangers like me**_

_**Tell me more! Please show me!**_

_**Something's familiar about these strangers like me!**_

* * *

_*** TARZAN ***_

* * *

Once again, I returned to the campsite and I saw Audrey practicing again. I smiled and got closer to her and then saw her singing to a bird. I noticed Jane was off to the side, sketching a picture of Audrey and the bird.

"That's very nice." I said to Jane. Over the weeks, my English was much better and I actually sounded like I was a human being. It definitely made Audrey very happy to see that. Jane looked at me and smiled.

"Oh why thank you, Tarzan." She replied and showed me the drawing right before the bird flew away. Jane sighed and so did Audrey.

"Oh well, maybe it'll come back next time." Jane said and walked away. Audrey was sad though. I walked up beside her on the tangled vines she sat on.

"What's wrong, Audrey?" I asked her

She sighed. "I remember my mother having a pet bird like that one when I was younger and it used to fly onto my arm always. She told me it was from Africa and this was the first time in years that I had seen that bird. I just wish….that I could've spent more time with it. I don't know where it lives." She said sadly.

I thought for a moment about the bird I saw on her shoulder and smiled. I remembered seeing that bird a lot in my childhood and I knew where it was. I looked up at the high trees and grinned towards Audrey.

"What?" she asked

I took her hands and had her stand up.

"Hold onto me and don't let go." I said and hopped onto a vine.

"Where are we going?" she asked as she took my hand again.

"Up to the trees." I answered. She wrapped her arms around my neck securely and kept one leg wrapped around my hipbone as I began to climb up the vine with her to the habitat of the birds. All the while I saw her gaze at everything and look at me a couple of times with a smile on her lips. Her body was tightly pressed up against mine and I felt her heart beating fast against my stomach and I had to laugh.

"What?" she asked

"You heart rate is so fast. I won't let you fall, Audrey. I promise." I said with a wink. She blushed and looked away but was still smiling. I chuckled.

_**Come with me now to see my world**_

_**Where there's beauty beyond your dreams**_

When we reached the top, she unwrapped her arms from mine and I held them in my hands. Our bodies were so close and I felt my own heart beating faster and I didn't know why. Audrey looked into my eyes and got lost in them as I did with her until I heard the birds tweeting in the behind the vines. I smiled and pulled her closer and then let her look through the vines. She gasped as she saw the millions of birds here, all together at one time. I entered the habitat and stood up, making the birds fly away for a minute and then come back to me and Audrey. They flew onto our arms and stayed there and Audrey got the chance to play with them.

"This is incredible." She said with a laugh and played with the birds some more. I smiled and petted the bird's head softly.

_**Can you feel the things I feel/**_

_**Right now…with you**_

After visiting the birds, I took Audrey back down but then got an idea.

"Audrey?"

She turned to me. "Yes, Tarzan?"

"Meet me back at here at night, okay?" I asked

"Okay? Why?" she asked

I shook my head. "It's a surprise." I said and swung away. Later on in the evening, I came back and just as she said, Audrey waited for me.

"So what did is this surprise you have?" I grinned and motioned for her to hold onto me. She wrapped her arms around my neck again right before I swung us up to the trees and landed on branch.

"You've shown me so much of your world…..I want to show you mine." I said softly. Audrey looked at me and gripped my hand tighter as she smiled.

I smiled back and let her grab hold of a vine and that's when she got the idea of what we were doing.

"Tarzan, I…..I don't know." She said nervously

"Don't worry, you won't fall. Besides, you're a gymnast. You can do this." I encouraged.

She still looked nervous. "But what if I do fall?"

"Then I'll catch you." I replied softly. Audrey nodded and bravely, took the vine with both hands and swung off on her own.

_**Take my hand….there's a world I need to know…..**_

I was happy that she could do this on her own and she was doing pretty well. She started swinging from vine to vine and I pushed her forward so she could go faster and feel the rush of adrenaline at the same time. Audrey laughed and jumped to the next vine and stayed there, allowing me to catch up and grab her vine and twist it with mine. Our vines intertwined with each other, pulling us closer and I was able to look at her clearly under the moonlight. She was so beautiful right now and I was entranced by her. What was this feeling?

* * *

_*** AUDREY ***_

* * *

The moment was perfect and I enjoyed being here in the trees with Tarzan. When our vines tanged together, I felt my stomach fill with thousands of butterflies. Looking up at him, I saw how handsome he was. His eyes mesmerized me, distracted me. The broadness of his chest and the muscularity of it was enchanting. Our vines were brought closer and Tarzan looked down at me with lidded soft eyes while I wrapped one arm around his neck and pulled myself closer to him. He looked curious as to what I would do and for a moment, I was curious myself. What was I doing? I knew that through the past weeks we had grown close but I didn't think that I would be this bold and upfront with him. I licked my dry lips and I felt his now shortened breath on my lips. My urge to close the distance between us was strong, but I decided against it. Tarzan didn't know what this was and I wouldn't make him care for me other than a friend, even though I wanted something else so badly, but I had to restrain it. I pulled back and looked away, blushing like crazy.

"Audrey? What's the matter?" he asked, but I couldn't respond.

"We've wasted all this time doing what he wants! The boat could arrive any day! Now ask him straight out!" Clayton ordered. Unfortunately, he was right. A lot of time was put in to help Tarzan and though those wonderful days were enjoyed, Daddy's research was at stake and we needed to at least see some gorillas.

I sighed and walked to Tarzan, as I knew that I could communicate better with him then the rest.

"Tarzan?" I asked. He turned to me and took my hand into his, like he always did.

I smiled and hoped he would say yes. "Will you take us to see the gorillas? Do you understand?" I asked

"I….understand." he answered. Daddy smiled.

"Good work, girls." He said to me and Jane.

"I can't." he said which shocked us all. He gripped my hand tighter.

"What?" Clayton said astonished

"Why not, Tarzan?" I asked holding his hand tighter as well.

"Kerhcak" was all he said before he let go of my hand and left. We all sighed and I was saddened to hear this. Kerchak was his leader and I guess Tarzan didn't want to upset him. I understood that. I didn't want Tarzan to be in trouble or have his family feel like he is betraying them. Daddy smiled sadly and embraced both me and Jane.

* * *

_*** TARZAN ***_

* * *

I hated seeing Audrey sad like that, but I didn't know what to do. As much as Kerchak and I don't see eye-to-eye, he was still my leader and I had to respect his orders whether I like it or not, even if it meant making Audrey sad.

_**I wanna know! Can you show me?**_

_**I wanna know about these strangers like me**_

_**Tell me more! Please show me!**_

_**Something's familiar about these strangers like me!**_

Instead of going home, I went to the tent that at night and went to the camera they had shown me when they were teaching me the first day. I played all of the films and looked at every single one of those pictures. My mind was racing with so many thoughts and I happy to see that I had learnt so much.

_**I wanna know!**_

The last picture I saw landed on a bouquet of flowers and I smiled as I thought of Audrey and how much they would mean to her. I thought of giving Audrey the bouquet and smiled at the image. Everything about her made me so happy. I wonder if this was what the Professor had told me before about what I was feeling in my heart. Was this that same feeling?

Was this love?

* * *

_**Like it? Love it? Review and let me know!**_

_**~Animelover5234~**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**I DO NOT OWN TARZAN**_

* * *

_***AUDREY***_

* * *

It was disappointing to learn that Tarzan wouldn't show us to his family but then again, it was understandable. I mean, he's known them for his whole life and he's known us for like what, a week or something? To me, it was pretty obvious who he would choose and Daddy understood this fully, however, Mr. Clayton wasn't happy with it. For the past few days, Clayton has been nagging at me constantly trying to get me to have Tarzan take us there since I was the closet one to him; he thought he would listen to me more than the rest of them. But I refused each time. I couldn't make Tarzan choose between whom he's known for so long and who he just met. It's not fair to him and places a huge burden on him.

"You must talk to him!" Clayton demanded

"No! I said I won't do it! I won't make him choose." I replied. I was in the process of doing our laundry and already early in the morning, Clayton is bugging me again.

"He doesn't know how to choose! He's a savage for God's sakes!" Clayton barked at me. That alone set me off and made me turn around and give an intense glare to him.

"He is not a savage! He's just like us! He's a human being, unlike you!" I yelled at him

"Audrey!" Jane said with an appalled look. Clayton growled.

"He was born with these beasts and acts like them too! He's a beast that needs to be caged with the rest of them!" Clayton barked at me. Jane was about to intervene, but I was through with all the yelling and all the fighting. I was done with the anger and frustration of everyone here and the disappointment in everyone's eyes. Why did all of this have to fall on me?

"Stop it! I don't want to talk about this anymore!" I yelled and then covered my ears.

Clayton growled and took the bin that I was washing my clothes in and threw it onto the ground in anger.

"Mr. Clayton, please stop?! Just leave it alone" Jane said, but he completely ignored her.

"You say you want to be treated like an adult, and yet you act like a child! You need to grow up Miss Porter because this is what grown-ups do!" he said firmly. My tears flowed down my cheeks in anger of his words.

"Shut up! I won't do it; I won't force him to decide! So just leave me alone and-" and then it happened so quickly that I thought I wouldn't be able to process what just happened. One second I'm yelling at Clayton and then the next I'm being slapped so hard across my face that it literally sent my flying into Daddy's work table, knocking all of the contents onto the ground, everything shattering into a million pieces. I held back my tears as best as I could but they failed terribly and spilled down my cheeks freely. Clayton walked over to me but then was knocked onto the ground harshly by something and it took me a moment to realize that it was Tarzan who had punched and pinned him to the ground.

* * *

_***TARZAN***_

* * *

After our last class Audrey, the Professor, Jane and Clayton had with me, I decided to do something nice for Audrey. So a few days passed and I was finally able to gather all of the flowers I needed to make a special bouquet for Audrey. It was filled with all kinds of wildflowers that were all exotic and I just knew that she would love them; well at least I hoped so.

I was so excited to give them to Audrey and see her reaction to them that I literally raced over to their campsite but as I got closer I could hear yelling and screaming coming from it. One of the voices sounded like Clayton's and the other's sounded like Audrey and she sounded really upset. What had happened? Why was she yelling? I leaped down to a lower tree vine and watched the argument between Clayton and Audrey. Audrey looked like she really didn't want to hear him speak to her but all Ii really heard from Clayton was that she needed to grow up and then I heard Audrey say shut up to him. I inched closer down the vine and spotted them in clear view. Audrey was still yelling and I got worried and curious as to what was wrong and then the next thing I saw filled me with so much rage. Clayton glared at her and then slapped her so hard across her face that the smack could be heard from miles. My jaw dropped and then my fist clenched up tight against the vine as I saw her fall against the table, but what really set me off and made me react was the tears falling from her eyes. I jumped off the vines and landed a direct punch to Clayton's face while pinning him to the ground.

Clayton looked at me in complete shock and then noticed the blood that now trickled down from the side of his mouth. I got off of him and held him up the air by his lapels and then threw him against a tree and held him there. I heard someone gasp but I wasn't be sure who it was.

"Don't you EVER! Put your hands on Audrey again! Or I will make sure to skin you alive" I snarled at him. Clayton eyes widened at me and then he narrowed his eyes as more blood flowed from his busted lip but I didn't care.

"Good Heavens! Tarzan, what're you doing?!" The Professor called to me.

"Tarzan, put him down!" Jane said and tried to remove my grip on him, but it only made me push my fists deeper into his neck and begin choking him.

"Tarzan, stop!" Jane said again, more desperately this time and with reluctance I let him go, allowing him to catch his breath.

"Audrey, wait!" Professor called. I turned my head to see her running away and the urge to follow her overcame my senses. Glancing at Clayton once more, I ran after Audrey and tried to keep up but she was fast especially since she could vine swing now. I swung around for her and called her names a couple of times, but there was no answer. I was so worried for her now and continued to search until I spotted her high up in the trees, curled up with her knees against her chest and crying into her arms. I climbed up the tree and then carefully moved slowly towards her.

"Audrey?" I said softly, my voice almost a whisper. She looked up and gasped when she saw me and moved back a bit from me. I was confused and tried to move towards her again, but she moved back again and I could see the fear in her eyes. She was acting the same way she did when we first met.

"Audrey, it's me." I said but that still didn't calm her and then I realized why. I must've frightened her with how I acted back at the campsite.

"Audrey,…..I'm sorry…I didn't mean to scare you, I swear." I said and reached out a hand to touch her. She gasped and then closed her eyes. I frowned sadly and wished that I hadn't let my anger get the better of me.

"I didn't mean to frighten you…you know I'd never hurt you." I tried to tell her but she wouldn't look at me. I didn't know what to do. I hadn't meant to frighten her so bad that she would be scared of me, I didn't mean for my anger to get out of control. I only meant to protect her.

"Tarzan" she said quietly and poked a glance at me.

"I…um….I think…I think I need some time…." She kind of stuttered. I nodded at her request. I understood that she needed her space but what I didn't expect was the word that came after it.

"Alone" she added and then made my heart drop. She….she didn't want me…around anymore? Did I really scare her that bad? I felt like I had a shortness of breath and tried desperately to swallow the lump in my throat.

"Audrey" I said hoarsely as if I hadn't drunken water in days.

"Please…I just…I need to be alone…..for awhile…" she said and turned away from me. I wanted to reach out and hold her hand like I always did but I knew that she would only retract it or move even more away from me. I looked at the flowers in hand and held them tight as I closed my eyes for moment and sighed.

"Okay" I whispered and then swung away, discarding the flowers in the process…

* * *

_***AUDREY***_

* * *

Seeing Tarzan swing away like that ripped me in half. I didn't want him to leave, not at all. But after seeing what he almost did to Clayton, I realized that even though Tarzan is human like us, he was still part ape. He had grown up in an environment where you had to sometimes fight to survive and show no mercy at times. I wasn't brought up like that and to see him hurt Clayton before my very eyes scared me like no other. I honestly thought that he was going to murder him. In the back of my mind, I knew Tarzan was gentle and sweet but my fear overlooked that and made me nervous to be within miles around him.

I didn't want to tell Tarzan to leave me alone but I needed some time to adjust. I wasn't in London anymore. This was a jungle and here it was survival of the fittest, not everyone helps each other all the time. Things get brutal and scary here and I had to learn to accept that but I needed this to be done on my own. But even so, watching Tarzan swing away like that and knowing that I deeply hurt him was the worst kind of pain I've ever felt and for the first time since I've been here in Africa, I did something that I haven't done since we were still in London.

I cried.

* * *

Some weeks passed by some more and Clayton didn't bother to ask me to talk to Tarzan again because of my predicament and I guessed he was still angry at what Tarzan had done to even suggest the idea. It was hard to go for some weeks without him and honestly it was killing me to see him again but I knew that it still wasn't the right time, but even every time I thought of him I would cry and just wait for him to come to the camp and hold my hand and take me vine swinging, but now….I was lonely, just like how I was back home.

"Hey" Jane said softly

I sighed. "Hey, Jane."

She bit her lip and seemed to contemplate what she was going to say first and then spoke. "Listen Audrey, maybe you should talk to Tarzan again. He really didn't mean what he did to scare you."

"Jane, what I saw awakened me. This isn't some fairy tale land where everyone is kind and nice and plus he was born here. So of course his primal instincts are going to come out. I just….I just didn't know he could be…."

"I know" Jane said and rubbed my arm soothingly. "But he really wishes to talk to you again. He mentions you all the time." She said and then it hit me, how did Jane know that?

"Jane? Have you been…..communicating with him?" I asked warily. She blushed and nodded.

"He actually came to me to talk and well….we became good friends. He's such a sweetheart and guess what?"

"What is it?" I asked

"He's going to teach me how to throw a spear! Isn't that great?" she asked excitedly. I gave a fake smile but on the inside Ii was hurting even more now. He was confiding in Jane? Did I really hurt him that bad?

"I-I'm…..happy for you" I said weakly and smiled.

"Thanks" she said and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.

"Well um…I better go help Daddy" she said and then kissed my forehead before leaving me feeling like a total idiot and knowing that I screwed up so bad.…

* * *

_**Sorry it's short guys, but next chapter will be some big drama happening! So Audrey's afraid of Tarzan and Jane and Tarzan are getting close? Things are going to get interesting!**_

_**Stay tuned for the next chapter!**_

_**~Animelover5234~**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**What up, my lovely viewers? So it seems that everyone is really enjoying my story The Gymnast and The Ape Man and I'm really hype for that cuz I honestly didn't believe that it could get this many great responses, but now to make you all happy, here's another new chapter and I think you all will like this or get upset with this chappie.**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TARZAN**_

* * *

_***TARZAN***_

* * *

3 days…

3 whole days was how long it had been since me and Audrey interacted with each other. I knew that she needed her alone time and to think about our friendship, but this was torture. Not being able to see her was killing me and I could feel myself slowly descending into a depression from this. My family noticed it, especially Mom, Tantur and Terk and they all got worried for me.

"Tarzan?" Mom said softly from behind me.

I looked at her and sighed before turning my attention back to the horizon.

"What's the matter, son? I've never seen you like this before" she said. Mom didn't really know about my hanging out with Audrey and her family and neither did Kerchak or the rest of our family know. I knew that I was disobeying Kerchak's orders by not staying away from them, but how could I do that? It was a struggle to not talk to Audrey every day and hang out with her but now I had to avoid these creatures, these humans, my own kind just because my leader has some serious inferiority complex and trust issues?

"I'm fine." I lied

Mom definitely didn't buy that. She grabbed my arm and forced me to look at her scowl on her face.

"Tarzan, I told you I hate liars and I know you're lying to me right now so I'm warning you don't do it because believe me, I will get the truth" she warned with a stern look. I had to smile at that because I knew that her stern demeanor only came out when she was truly worried about me and I also knew not to mess with her about the truth, unless I had a death-wish that is.

Mom sighed and caressed my arm gently and moved closer to me.

"Tarzan, be honest with me. What's wrong, son?" she asked again

And with great reluctance, I told her. Well, I rephrased the situation so that she wouldn't freak out but the problem was still the same.

"I um…I have this new friend." I started

"Oh….is it a new family coming into the jungle?" she asked curiously. Technically, they were new to the jungle so I nodded.

"And uh…there's this female there and she's really nice and sweet and kind and-"

"Hold on a minute Tarzan" Mom stopped me and then scrutinized me. I was scared that I had said too much and gave away what was really going on with me, but then Mom broke out into a huge smile and grasped me in a tight embrace.

"Oh my dear son, I'm so happy for you! Are you…attracted to this female?" she asked with excitement in her eyes. Attracted? I never really thought about my feelings for Audrey before. I mean, I definitely knew that she was beautiful and at one point I did believe that maybe I could be in love with her but I never really examined those feelings and test them to see if they were true, but now looking back on the days that I spent with Audrey, I did feel the same tingles I got whenever I was around her and I knew for a fact that she definitely had beauty as a part of her traits.

I remembered my reactions towards her and how I was affected whenever I was close to her. All these factors I never noticed until now and that's when I realized that was attracted to her and I also realized that my feelings for Audrey only increased over the duration that she had been here. From the first moment when I saw in the jungle, scoping her way through the massive amount of nature that they walked into and to the moment where I saved Audrey and Jane from the baboons, I knew that there was something about her. Just something about her that kept me coming back to see her every day after that. It may have been something minimal but it was something special to me and I cherished that about Audrey.

"I….I guess I am" I said smiling, but then I frowned remembering why I was so depressed lately.

"What's her name?" she asked next. Now this was kinda tricky because Audrey wasn't a common name used among us, but I don't think Mom would question it too much.

"Audrey" I said with a smile and hoped that she wouldn't ask any more questions.

"Audrey….what a lovely name!" she said happily. "Wait…..does she feel the same towards you?"

That was the question I was hoping to avoid, but I think my facial reactions to the question gave away how I felt. Mom's face saddened just as she embraced me again.

"Oh Tarzan, don't be sad son. Maybe it wasn't meant to be. There are other gorillas out there and I'm sure one of them will see what a wonderful ape you are" she said softly.

I nodded but of course I was only doing that to keep from answering more questions and from hearing a lecture that I wasn't in the mood for.

"I um….I'm going to uh…just go clear my head" I said and then kissed Mom on the forehead before jumping onto a vine and swinging along. I really did need time to clear my head. Audrey was right now the only person I was thinking of and at the moment, I couldn't get distracted. She needed her space from me but I needed to make sure that I stayed positive because I couldn't have my family wondering and becoming concerned about me.

When I was far enough I rested on a low tree branch where I could see the view of the other half of the jungle and the other half of the jungle at the same time. The sky was still blue when I came here and minute by minute, hour by hour, it began to change from its beautiful blue color to a nice pink/orange glow. I missed the blue of the sky and then I realized that it was the same color as Audrey's eyes. I sighed. So much for not being distracted.

"Tarzan?" someone said softly. I froze and then analyzed the voice that I had just heard and knew that it wasn't Audrey's voice, but belonged to her sister Jane. I glanced at the ground and saw Jane peering up at me with a curious gaze.

"Hello Jane" I replied and looked back up at the sky. I heard leaves and branches squeaking and bending and then felt the tree branch I sat on move a bit from a new weight added. I turned my head to the side to see Jane struggling to climb towards me and grumbling at the same time.

"I don't know how Audrey does this nonsense" she grumbled and then her dress got caught in a protruding branch and ripped off a small piece of her dress. Jane sighed and I cracked a smile and chuckled lightly at her face. Hearing my small laugh, she looked at me and scowled.

"Oh so you think that's funny?" she asked. I snickered and nodded.

"Well I'm glad I can amuse you" she mumbled and then wobbled a bit on the branch as she lost a little bit of her balance. My instincts became alert and I watched her as she carefully made her way over to me. I guess it was a normal reaction to feel on the watch for Audrey and Jane after all, in the beginning of our meeting, I did save them. Jane moved towards me but lost her footing again but this time I caught her wrists before she fell off the branch. She gasped and clung onto my arms and I could feel the fear inside her and her hands trembled against my muscles.

"It's okay" I said and pulled her on up next to me. "It's alright" I said again but she was still shaking.

"Jane?" I asked her softly which caused her to look at me.

"Breathe" I advised. "Breathe, Jane. You're okay" I added to calm her senses. Jane nodded vigorously and tried to slow down her rapid breathing but I knew it was a struggle because of the experience of almost falling off a high tree.

"Are you afraid of heights?" I asked her in which she immediately nodded in response.

"Then why would you climb up here?" I asked. It seemed pretty dumb to me that she would risk her fear of heights by coming up here and it also made me wonder if Audrey was afraid of heights.

"I-I…I wanted to s-see if you w-were okay" she stuttered. Wow, she really did have a fear of heights. I didn't know what else to do to calm her down but hold her in my arms against my side. Jane leaned her head against my shoulder and hugged my waist tightly, almost to the point where my ribcage would crack.

"That better?" I asked her which she nodded again at. I knew she was telling the truth because her loud beating heart finally calmed down and returned to normal.

"So you wanted to see me?" I asked her

"Yes…..I uh…Audrey told me that you guys weren't speaking to each other" she said. I looked down at her with confusion.

"That's what she told you?" I asked

"Yea, why?" she asked me

I sighed and looked down at the ground, trying to find the right words as to what had happened between us. "She basically told me to leave her alone. I…..I scared her." I admitted. Jane was now the one confused.

"You…..you scared her?" she asked in disbelief.

"Hard to believe isn't it?" I asked sourly

"Well yes because she…" I awaited her for to finish that sentence but she didn't.

"She what?"

Jane bit her lip. "Audrey…she admires you, Tarzan." She said

This was hard for me to believe. Audrey admired me? What for? I wasn't anyone special, she was. What was there to admire about me?

"Why?" was all I could ask.

"Why wouldn't she be amazed, Tarzan? You're strong, kind, caring, your character is so admirable that I really don't blame her for adoring you." She stated. I could feel the blush on my cheeks and a small smile appearing on my face too. She really thought that highly of me?

"What about you? What do you think of me?" I asked. I was curious to know of what Jane thought for we hardly ever talked before. Usually all of my time would be centered around getting to know Audrey and just being with her in general, but I never got to know Jane and now seemed like a good time to begin.

"Well…..I um…..I think you're a-amazing too." She stumbled. I raised an eyebrow at her and smirked.

"Really?" I asked her. I just had to tease her a bit.

She blushed. "Don't make fun of me!" she whined a bit. Okay, she sounded really cute when she whined, that I just had to laugh.

I hugged her close to my side and grinned. "I'm sorry. You're just fun to tease, Jane" I answered.

"Yea, I know. Audrey does it all the time" she mumbled. I swear, every time I hear her name, I get all jittery and mushy on the inside. I sighed and wished that she would speak to me again. I really did miss her company and I wished that she would know that I never meant to frighten her ever. I cared about her too much to ever do something like that.

"Tarzan, may I ask you something?" Jane asked me carefully.

"Sure" I said simply.

Jane fiddled with her hair for a moment with shaky fingers. Whatever she had to say was really bothering her and it reminded me of how nervous and anxious Audrey was when I first met her and with what happened a few days ago. With a gentle touch, I took Jane's strand of loose hair and tucked it behind her ear which only resulted in making her blush. I remember when I used to do that to Audrey.

"How do you feel…about me?" she asked timidly. To be honest, that question took me completely by surprise. I never would've guessed that Jane wanted my opinion on what I felt towards her since we have hardly spoken to each other before and for a single minute, I had no idea of what I should say to her or better yet, how to respond correctly to her question.

"I….umm…I-I don't know how….to um….answer your question, Jane" I replied honestly. She nodded in understanding and then I felt bad. I felt bad that through all that time I was here spending time at their campsite, I never really got to know Jane as a person or to know her as something other than that. I knew nothing about her, what she likes, what she doesn't, her own childhood stories. I only knew her as Audrey's older sister and Audrey hardly ever talked about Jane in our conversations, but since Audrey didn't want to see me, maybe it was a good time to get to now Jane and what she's about.

"But if you'd like" I began to add which re-attracted her attention to me. "I'd like to get to know you" I said.

A smile graced her lips and made her eyes sparkle and shine brightly at me. I returned her smile with one of my own as I immediately found that her smile was infectious.

"Me too, Tarzan." She replied and leaned against me even more right before she suddenly looked up at me. "So when should we…."

"We can now. I have nothing but time" I said

Jane grinned widely. "Wonderful!" she said happily and then lost her balance once again, but I caught her but the waist while she clung to my neck.

"Oh Good Heavens…..um maybe we should get down first?" she asked. I shrugged and then slowly took us down the vines and back onto the jungle floor. Jane and I sat down on the ground and then the questions and stories began about our lives and about whom we identified ourselves as. I actually found out that Jane was an artist and she explained to me that that was how the monkey fiasco had begun with her drawing. She actually showed me a few pictures of her artwork and I had to say that I was thoroughly impressed. She had talent.

"These are amazing, Jane. You're really good" I complimented which earned another blush from her. I grinned, enjoying the fact that I could make her blush. I don't know how long we talked but it was definitely a long while as I noticed the sky changing from color to color, from the pink/orange color to a now navy blue color. Soon nighttime had taken over and covered the whole sky in a dark cloak and from afar we could see the campsite's glow from the firelight.

"Good Heavens! I didn't notice how long we've been talking, Tarzan" Jane said and grabbed her art journal.

"Neither did I" I replied and then followed her through the small amount of bushes, vines and trees towards her campsite. By the time we arrived, we saw everyone around the fire and the Professor was the first to look up and spot us.

"Oh Jane! I was beginning to worry" he said and then went to embrace his daughter.

"I'm fine, Daddy. Tarzan walked me back" she stated. He shot me a smile which I returned with a smile back but as I searched the campsite, I didn't see Audrey anywhere in sight.

"Thank you, my boy for making sure she got here." He said and patted my shoulder. I smiled as he walked into his tent.

"Tarzan?" Jane asked

"Yes, Jane?"

"Would you mind…meeting up with me tomorrow at the same spot?" she asked me with a anxiety in her voice. I found it utterly adorable and brushed the hair in front of her right eye behind her ear.

"Of course, and then maybe I can show you how to throw a spear" I added. She grinned and then nodded in response.

"I'd love that" she said and then quickly put her mouth against my cheek for a second and then pulled back. My eyes widened and then I tenderly felt my cheek at the spot where her mouth had been. What was that? I looked up at Jane and saw her blushing hard.

"I…..um…..I'll see you tomorrow" she said and then walked away quickly into her tent. My hand was still against my cheek and I was still in shock as to what Jane had done to me. What did it mean? Was it something bad? Whatever it was, I wanted to save it for tomorrow to ask her.

* * *

_**ONE WEEK LATER…..**_

* * *

As Jane would say, time really flies by when you're spending time with friends. For the past week, Jane and I had been spending so much time together and honestly I was happy again. I was happy that my depression had faded and I was happy that Jane was happy too. For the whole week, Audrey still didn't speak to me and I'll admit, it stung to see that she still hadn't gotten over what happened or that she was still not communicating with me. However, Jane had told me to give Audrey all the time she needed to try and figure this out on her own and I agreed. Jane knew her sister far better than I did so I took her word on that, but in the meantime, Jane and I were connecting more and more with each other.

Each day we learned new things and did so many things with each other that it made me look forward to another fun-filled day with her. I realized that Jane was funny, smart and kind and I taught her many survival tactics that would come in handy. I also taught her how to be a gorilla and I had to admit, she was good at it. At the moment, Jane was trying to catch a banana with her new spear that I crafted for her and so far, she was missing it a lot but she was definitely getting better from her previous attempts. She tried again this time and she actually got really close to getting that banana.

"Oh for Goodness' Sakes, this s going to take me forever to learn!" she said and picked up her spear again. I chuckled as I watched her struggle.

"Keep trying. You'll get it soon" I encouraged. She sighed and gave me a look before she aimed and threw her spear and this time, for the 110th time, it caught the fruit clean off the branch.

"I got it!" she exclaimed excitedly. I grinned and went to her, grabbing her by her waist and spinning her around.

"I told you it was possible. Now you're halfway to becoming a true gorilla" I said smirking and then placed Jane on her feet again. She giggled and then smiled up at me, but then her eyes looked intently into mine and I found myself staring at her. Our bodies were close but still inches apart and I could heart her erratic heartbeat within her chest while feeling my own begin to pound. Our gazes lasted for a couple of minutes more before Jane cleared her throat and broke eye contact with me.

'**Well that was strange**' I thought.

"Ummm….I uh…..thank you…..for teaching me today, Tarzan" she said softly.

"Anytime" I replied and tried to understand what I felt just a few seconds ago and it dawned on me that those feelings were the same that I felt for Audrey. But did that mean….that I…liked them both. I mean of course it was normal to like more than one person, but having the same feelings towards them both whenever I was near either of them? Now that sounded a bit weird.

"I should get back" she said and I nodded in agreement.

"Well um….I guess we'll meet up tomorrow again, right?" I asked. Jane smiled that lovely smile I grew to adore.

"Of course" she said and dusted off her spear. And in that moment, I acted completely on my instincts and pressed my mouth against her cheek, like she had done to me last time. Jane hadn't told me what that meant or what it was for that matter, but I guessed that it meant a sign of care of friendship or something like that. Her whole face turned bright red and she held her cheek that my mouth came into contact with.

"I-I have to g-go" she stuttered and then jogged off back towards her campsite while I wore a small smile all the way home, but in the back of my mind I felt something I had never felt before in my life.

I felt like my heart was torn between two girls I cared about and what made it more confusing was that they were sisters….

Audrey and Jane…..

* * *

_**Chapter completed! And I know some of y'all weren't expecting that, but I had to do it and trust me, next two chapters get even worse for the three of them. But for now review for me guys and I'll update again soon!**_

_**Lots of love!**_

_**~Animelover5234~**_


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